A Spirited Perfect Ten

[Mike S]

Universal has been covered in Spirit threads before from Diagon Alley's opening to the announcements of Nintendo and Volcano Bay so I think this fits here. New interview concerning Skull Island: Reign of Kong. Doesn't say much new, but it does officially confirm fire for the entrance gate (if you didn't already get that from the concept art).
http://news.moviefone.com/2015/06/27/universal-studios-skull-island-reign-of-kong/
So excited for next summer

 

[BrianLo]

The OC Register reporters have discovered that (SURPRISE!) Disney now owns all that land north of Pumbaa, linking perfectly with the Carousel Inn. In this Sunday's paper they lay out the concept better than I could. Here's the graphic from the Register story.

Argh... I should have just come over to this thread first. Well at least we both thought that was the most interesting thing!

Here's my post from the BOD thread, it's a little redundant now, but I'll move it here because Anaheim is better discussed in this thread.

An interesting take on locations. I've heard a lot of 'white noise', but Star Wars is pretty much a lock for ToonTown and Big Thunder Ranch, right folks? (@1023 @WDW1974)

I'm very interested in their improved infrastructure infographic in the bottom right of the article. I didn't realize they own not only the parking lot, but that entire complex above it as well? One can get an idea from old, old imagineering plans about how the new structure will be set up. I assume the Carousel Inn purchase is to eventually build a second major parking structure on that lot with both freeway access and Harbour Blvd Access. Some sort of guest transit could be built on the North of Disney Way, or they could be looking to run it through Carousel Inn.

Here's some plans circa 2000...

I also assume the only reason the media is picking up the Anaheim's news is due to Disney tipping its hand for tax breaks.

Edit: Want to make sure that my question still tags properly to @1023 or @WDW1974 or anyone else on the up and up with StarWars in Anaheim.

 

[BrerJon]

The subs in DL must have had better AC cause it didn't feel hot in there. It didn't leak either.

On 20K the feeling that at any moment water was going to pour in and you were possibly going to drown was the best bit of the ride!

 

[BrerJon]

Well Tokyo has one, the ride system is quite different, but it is very well done.

Tokyo and Paris both have Nautilus' (Nautili?) submerged in the lagoon but they don't move, so don't have that mysterious kinetic feel that the Magic Kingdom ones did, silently gliding around like predators in the water.

 

[misterID]

Tokyo and Paris both have Nautilus' (Nautili?) submerged in the lagoon but they don't move, so don't have that mysterious kinetic feel that the Magic Kingdom ones did, silently gliding around like predators in the water.

I still miss walking past 20k an not seeing the sub's and hearing the sounds and the waterfall. Talk about ambiance. But yeah, riding it could be a smelly claustrophobic nightmare.

 

[ford91exploder]

Well, I'm sure that wont last past Christmas.

Depends heavily on execution I think, If we have 'Star Wars Episode Merchandising' it could be awful.

 

[ford91exploder]

I still miss walking past 20k an not seeing the sub's and hearing the sounds and the waterfall. Talk about ambiance. But yeah, riding it could be a smelly claustrophobic nightmare.

Erm, You know that describes REAL submarines as well, At least you with Disney subs you don't have the pressure hull creaking as the stresses normalize during a descent...

 

[OneDNP]

I too was a big fan of the 20k movie and I think that in part accounts for my displeasure with the attraction. The 20k movie won two Academy Awards and one of those awards was for special effects. Therefore I assumed (incorrectly) that the attraction would have special effects that were superb. And above ground that was true.

The subs looked spectacular. They were darn very close approximations of the Nautilus. The entire lagoon looked just like the mysterious island of Vulcania! And you could see the subs travel into an island cave between cascading waterfalls! My first impression was that this was going to be a wonderful adventure. It was all very convincing.

Waiting in the queue they played concertina music of various sea shanties such as Blow the man down, What shall we do with the drunken sailor and, of course, A Whale of a Tale from the movie. It was a great way to build the anticipation for the ride!

Once you entered the boat, you found water sloshing around on the bottom deck. It turned out that the hatches through which people entered and exited were not water tight. As a result, water would get in the subs from the waterfall as the subs entered Vulcania. They had to dam up the center part of the waterfall to keep the boats dryer. However, some water still got in the boats because it was always wet in there. The usual afternoon rains at WDW added to the problem as water would drip in from the hatches. But I think it also added to the effect of being in a real submarine because you had water leaks and water sloshing around on the floor!

Another part of the ambiance was the close quarters and lousy ventilation. When forty people were in a sub, you were packed in there like sardines. The A/C systems never really worked very well and there was no significant air flow. For me, I thought it was all part of the show to have the subs being hot with sweltering humidity. Submarines have very cramped space and the air quality can be very problematic. But people that were claustrophobic or didn't like the smell of other guest's body odor had rough trips.

The audio on the boats was terrific! The person on the PA system sounded just like Captain Nemo (James Mason) from the movie. Plus they had the spooky organ music playing in the background. It really did a good job of setting the mood.

After the sub left the dock it submerged and air bubbles would blow by the viewing ports. This was a simulation of air being bled from the subs ballast tanks and replaced with sea water to enable the sub to submerge. It was a very good effect.

Once the portholes cleared of bubbles the view through the portholes was disappointing unless you were a small child. Everything looked like plastic phony toys you'd find in a swimming pool or a home aquarium. You could clearly see the monofilament line holding the props in place! The special effects looked like one step below the day-glow cardboard cutouts in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

When is was time to surface, air bubbles would again stream by your porthole! That didn't make any sense. To surface the sub would be pumping compressed air into the ballast tanks and expelling sea water. They wouldn't be wasting air blowing it out of the sub. It's just another case of Disney saying to their guests back in 1971, "They're tourists, what do they know"!

It was obvious that Disney had not yet figured out how to create or present convincing underwater stage sets. But in those days it was fun for small children so that's really all the mattered.

I was a small child when I went on that ride and was blown away. A few years ago we did DLs version and I was left a little empty. Hubs was left nauseated.

 

[Cesar R M]

The financial windfall from the Board of Director's meeting in WDW continues to be felt here in Anaheim this week, with Disney's official announcement of a "1 Billion Dollar investment" in the Disneyland Resort beginning in 2017 if the Anaheim City Council agrees to extend the gate tax moratorium for another 30 years.

The Anaheim City Council is of course falling into line like Annual Passholders waiting for a new pin release, and Disney will get its current tax moratorium extended from 2016 to 2046. They'll vote on it July 7th and make it official.

But the news of a $1 Billion Disneyland expansion has the local media here digging into some analysis of the plans for Anaheim, with speculative maps and graphics like this one in the OC Register this weekend. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/disney-668812-disneyland-attractions.html

Star Wars Land and Marvel Land are on the way, apparently.

One other little info-graphic caught my eye, as we had talked about it here weeks ago. A few hundred pages back in this thread I shared that at cocktail parties I'd been to in the last year or two that there was often a gaggle of well-connected successful realtors hanging out in a corner talking about all the property Disney has secretly bought recently in Anaheim's Resort District; including the USCIS and Sybron Co. business parks north of the existing Pumbaa parking lot for a massive Disneyland parking structure.

When it was discovered a month ago that Disney had just bought the Carousel Inn on Harbor Blvd., that lined up with the Martini-fueled chatter I'd heard that a big skybridge over Harbor was part of the plan, linking the parking structure to Disneyland's Esplanade.

The OC Register reporters have discovered that (SURPRISE!) Disney now owns all that land north of Pumbaa, linking perfectly with the Carousel Inn. In this Sunday's paper they lay out the concept better than I could. Here's the graphic from the Register story.

It's all very interesting, but I also wanted to prove to @WDW1974 that I really do get invited to the right parties.

30 years is a lot, is really worth to lose 30 years of tax vs 1 billion in funding ?

 

[1023]

30 years is a lot, is really worth to lose 30 years of tax vs 1 billion in funding ?

This is just a shell game. Do not put to much effort into thinking about it. Disney will get the abatement despite the fact that the infrastructure improvements are necessary. This time they can fleece an entity to offset some spending.

*1023*

 

[TP2000]

30 years is a lot, is really worth to lose 30 years of tax vs 1 billion in funding ?

Anaheim has never taxed Disneyland tickets at any time in the last 60 years, so they aren't losing anything by continuing that practice for another 30 years.

Taxes already levied on the Anaheim Resort District, Disneyland Resort plus the 20,000 non-Disney hotel rooms within walking distance of Disneyland, accounts for just over 55% of Anaheim's annual tax revenue of $200 Million, mainly from hotel room taxes which are currently 17%. (17%!!!)

Over 55% of Anaheim's annual tax money - for schools, police, firemen, libraries, parks and public services - comes from a compact piece of land that makes up only 2% of Anaheim's city limits.

For a city of over 300,000 people, Disneyland and the 25+ million visitors it brings each year is already the goose that lays golden eggs for Anaheim. Most Anaheim politicians realize that.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Erm, You know that describes REAL submarines as well, At least you with Disney subs you don't have the pressure hull creaking as the stresses normalize during a descent...

One ping only.

 

[ThemeParkJunkee]

I am actually old enough to have ridden 20KL as an adult with a couple of my kids (then really little). I still consider it my favorite "suspend disbelief" ride of all time. The ride vehicle alone was enough to create that Magic. The surroundings, queue, atmosphere, CMs etc just added to the ambiance. I can't find a ride today that can produce the same feeling. Splash Mountain comes close. Now that the whole "steam punk" vibe has become mainstream. I really wish it were still here.

I do hope this kind of Imagineering pervades the 21st century. Please WDWI...immerse us in "coolness".

 

[flynnibus]

I'm sure that most fans here aren't aware that there already is a special tax district as part of the resort district that was setup as part of the horse trading deal disney worked with Anaheim when they added Dca and dtd to Disneyland. Guests all pay extra high hotel taxes in the special district.

Just four years ago Anaheim overlaid another special taxing district on the hotels tacking on an extra 2% to fund tourism activity (and convention center work).

This game of targeted taxing and funding redevelopment and targeted tourism activities is old hat for the city... And players like disney are always right at the table.

For those not watching at the time ... Go look up soar... Which was an effort from disney and others to try to fight planned housing development in the immediate area ... Housing that would cause new grief from these neighbors for people like disney and compete for focus... So disney whipped up their political clout to kill it... And used the Dca v2 "investment" as a token of why the resort district was so important to protect. Disney successfully got the project killed.

Disney knows they gotta do the dance with the city.... And are savvy enough to know when the leverage normal activity for political gain.. For both themselves and their allies.

 

[Stevek]

Spirited Friday Night (if I can keep my eyes open) Musings:

I've heard that DLR has decided on the BRAND over patriotism (and today is a day to be proud of the USA ... finally!) a, nd won't be showing the traditional July 4th pyro show at all (usually they play it for 3-5 nights) instead opting for the new 60th Disneyland Forever show. A friend said they did the same in 2005 during the 50th, but I simply don't recall. I still find it odd.

And of our DLers (@raven24, @TP2000, @GiveMeTheMusic , @Stevek etc) know for sure?

.

No dedicated 4th of July show, just a tag at the end. I find it more disappointing that there will be no Christmas Parade or Fireworks though I get it...they just spent a boatload on 2 new shows. But seems like they could do Christmas Fantasy during the day at least (still crossing fingers, just haven't heard anything on it yet)

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

No dedicated 4th of July show, just a tag at the end. I find it more disappointing that there will be no Christmas Parade or Fireworks though I get it...they just spent a boatload on 2 new shows. But seems like they could do Christmas Fantasy during the day at least (still crossing fingers, just haven't heard anything on it yet)

Not sure where you heard there won't be A Christmas Fantasy Parade this year. It should return like normal, but will only run during the day because of PTN. Believe...In Holiday Magic won't be shown this year so that Disneyland Forever can continue uninterrupted.

 

[ford91exploder]

One ping only.

Aye, one ping only SIR!

Props for the Red October reference!

 

[MKCP 1985]

I still miss walking past 20k an not seeing the sub's and hearing the sounds and the waterfall. Talk about ambiance. But yeah, riding it could be a smelly claustrophobic nightmare.

For several years, I associated a unique smell that occurs with plastic and water or humid conditions with Walt Disney World in the summer rainy season generally and 20K specifically. When I became an adult, I learned what that smell really is - mildew! LOL

But I will always hold a special place in my memories for the 20K attraction -- mostly viewing the submarines making their voyage across the lagoon and through the waterfall while sharing a Fantasyland park bench and a strawberry ice cream waffle cone with my beloved.

 

[truecoat]

Here's the Peter Pan upgrade over at Disneyland.

 

[michmousefan]

Universal has been covered in Spirit threads before from Diagon Alley's opening to the announcements of Nintendo and Volcano Bay so I think this fits here. New interview concerning Skull Island: Reign of Kong. Doesn't say much new, but it does officially confirm fire for the entrance gate (if you didn't already get that from the concept art).
http://news.moviefone.com/2015/06/27/universal-studios-skull-island-reign-of-kong/
So excited for next summer

Well, ya know, Disney had an announcement themselves... Captain EO will return to the Magic Eye! Frankly, I think they missed an opportunity to announce a special accompanying drink -- perhaps the Neverland Frozen Michael-rita.